Police on Sunday, December 25, arrested a 27-year-old co-actor of television and film actor Tunisha Sharma on the charge of abetting her suicide in Maharashtra's Palghar district, an official said. The 21-year-old actor allegedly died by suicide on the set of a serial in the Vasai area in Palghar near Mumbai on Saturday, he said. Based on a complaint filed by Tunisha's mother, the Valiv police registered a case against the deceased's co-actor, Sheezan M Khan, under Section 306 (abetment of suicide) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and arrested him, the station house office of Valiv police station said.
Sheezan was later produced before a Vasai magistrate who remanded him in police custody for four days, Assistant Commissioner of Police (Tulinj) Chandrakant Jadhav said. The police officer further said the postmortem report of Tunisha indicated that had she died by suicide. Tunisha had acted in the TV show Bharat Ka Veer Putra Maharana Pratap, and films like Fitoor and Baar Baar Dekho.
The incident on Saturday took place on a set where the shooting of the serial Ali Baba: Dastaan-E-Kabul was in progress. Tunisha had gone to the washroom on the set and did not return for a long time. When the door was broken down, she was found dead, another police official said.
Her mother in her complaint claimed that Tunisha and Sheezan were in love and blamed the latter for her daughter's death, the police said. No suicide note was found at the spot, the official said. A police probe team from Valiv was collecting details to ascertain the exact reason behind Sharma's death, Jadhav said.
If you are aware of anyone facing mental health issues or feeling suicidal, please provide help. Here are some helpline numbers of suicide prevention organisations that can offer emotional support to individuals and families.
Tamil Nadu
State health department's suicide helpline: 104
Sneha Suicide Prevention Centre - 044-24640050 (listed as the sole suicide prevention helpline in Tamil Nadu)
Andhra Pradesh
Life Suicide Prevention: 78930 78930
Roshni: 9166202000, 9127848584
Karnataka
Sahai (24-hour): 080 65000111, 080 65000222
Kerala
Maithri: 0484 2540530
Chaithram: 0484 2361161
Both are 24-hour helpline numbers.
Telangana
State government's suicide prevention (tollfree): 104
Roshni: 040 66202000, 6620200
SEVA: 09441778290, 040 27504682 (between 9 am and 7 pm)
Aasara offers support to individuals and families during an emotional crisis, for those dealing with mental health issues and suicidal ideation, and to those undergoing trauma after the suicide of a loved one.
24x7 Helpline: 9820466726
Click here for working helplines across India.